Compilation Of New Register Will Avoid Manipulation In 2020 Polls – EC Boss

Jean Mensah, the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC) of the Republic of Ghana has justified her decision to compile a new voters register.

The Boss indicated in a forum  organized by Friedrich Ebert Stiftung that the compilation of a new voters’ register is motivated by its desire to ensure a free and fair general election come December 7 2020

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 “A bloat in our register could have dire consequences for any election and as a people, we should go to an election with a mindset that it has to be credible. We should leave no room for manipulation and I believe that that is the essence of a bio metric register.”

“It is our desire that we leave no room for manipulation at the polling stations because, under the current situation, any manipulation could have dire consequences for our election in the sense that it could change the outcome of an election and these are some of the reasons that informed our decision to compile a new register.”

Various civil society organizations and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) have criticized the EC over its plans to compile a new voters’ register for the 2020 general elections.

The EC is however bent on compiling the new register regardless of the agitations

EC’s justification

The EC submitted its legal justification for the amendment and described the old voter ID as “fruit from a poisoned tree” and a breach of Article 42 of the constitution, which defines who is qualified to register to vote.

The EC cited the court’s judgement in the Abu Ramadan case, where it indicated that the use of the National Health Insurance Card to register a voter is inconsistent with Article 42 of the constitution and therefore void.

In line with the judgement in the Abu Ramadan case, over 56,000 names registered with the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) cards were deleted.